GF Basil Pesto Pizza Recipe

Before I begin this post with my pizza recipe, I want to let you know, in case you've not already heard, that www.lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com  blog (Diane) was been removed, suddenly, by Google. She has no idea why, but while she and Mr. Lavender Dreams are  trying to get her information back, she has created a new blog, www.lavenderdreamsnew.blogspot.com. If you've ever lost your account or found your information to be stolen, you'll know how devastating that is. Please visit her new blog and give her a word of encouragement (and read her story!). Thanks.

GF BASIL PESTO PIZZA RECIPE

For years now, I've been making pizza using Food For Life gluten-free tortillas as the crust. And they're always good, but after visiting Roman Candle in Fitchburg, WI last weekend, I decided to take this pizza making up a notch. At the restaurant, I ordered their gluten-free pesto pizza. It was DELICIOUS. So, of course I had to try to replicate it at home. I will have to say, I actually liked my version even better.

Basil Pesto Gluten Free Pizzas, thin crust - Recipe 

Makes 2 pizzas, 1 serving each, but actually they were filling (especially when accompanied by a green salad) so we each ate 3/4 of a pizza and saved the rest for the next day.

Preheat oven to 460 degrees.

Ingredients:

2 Food for Life gluten-free tortillas. (one tortilla per person) Each tortilla is about 7" diam.

1/2 chopped large onion, sauteed in a bit of olive oil (along with the pepper)

1/2 large red bell or Italian pepper, seeded, chopped, sauteed with the onion

Basil pesto, about 2 T. per tortilla

1 can tomato paste (1/2 can per tortilla)

1 can  (13 oz) chicken breast (drained, of course)

Kalamata olives, chopped

Feta cheese (some)

Roma tomatoes (one for each, thinly sliced)

Mozzarella cheese (just a sprinkling on each pizza)

I used a large jellyroll pan to bake the pizzas, side by side. It worked fine, but next time I will use two of my cast iron skillets (shown above). That might work even better.

Instructions:

Using two tortillas (one each for Mr. C. and me), I spread the basil pesto over each. (A few years ago I raised a ton of basil in the garden and had made and frozen pesto in small batches). Of course, Basil Pesto is available in small jars at the grocery store.

Spread half the tomato paste over each tortilla

Sprinkle the sauteed pepper and onion over each tortilla

Shred chicken and place half a can of chicken on each pizza. (minus a chunk each for Tommy & Smokey who were hanging around, begging).

Place Kalamata olives over the top of each pizza. I didn't put an amount here because we like lots of olives, some people probably wouldn't want as many. (At least I have heard of people like that) ;-)

Sprinkle a nice layer of Feta cheese on top of each pizza - not too thick.

Slice the two Roma tomatoes thin and place them on each pizza.

Bake the pizzas side-by-side in a greased (I used a cooking spray) jellyroll pan or skillets.

Bake at 460 degrees for 9 minutes.

Open oven door and Quickly, sprinkle a wee bit of mozzarella cheese over each pizza. Not too much. I'm trying to keep this a fairly low-calorie, low-sugar, but high protein pizza.

Close oven door and bake another 8-9 minutes.

These pizzas were amazing!, Crispy, so full of flavor, so easy, gluten-free, a minimum of dairy, and no sugar (except for what's already in tomato paste).

I hope you'll try it. And of course you can heat leftovers by putting them on a cookie sheet and into the oven heated to 350 - for a while.  They're much better that way than merely getting them hot in a microwave. Yuk. Who wants soggy pizza!

***

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February at the Wednesday Medley

It's February, and it's not pretty.
And why is it that February, usually only 28 days,
seems like the longest month?? 

(Not pretty, except for my wonderful, trusty old '95 Jeep)


Join Terri and the Gang
for

She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post 

and join in at Your Friend From Florida

 

Thank you, Terri, for the Wednesday Medley!

NATIONAL FROZEN YOGURT DAY

National Frozen Yogurt Day is observed annually on February 6th.

Frozen yogurt sales are increasing every year as people want a healthier alternative to ice cream. The explosion of flavors and topping choices add to the popularity of frozen yogurt.

Frozen yogurt was first developed 1970 in the United States as a soft-serve treat produced by H.P Hood called Frogurt. Humphreys and Dannon soon followed with their own versions of the treat. Its popularity grew in the 80s, mostly due to frozen yogurts “health food” status. Ice cream manufacturers soon caught on, offering low-fat options.

Frozen yogurt is again making a comeback as consumers have begun to prefer the tart taste of yogurt.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Give the following recipes a try:

Creamy Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
Cherry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt
Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

Use #NationalFrozenYogurtDay to post on social media.

HISTORY

Within our research, we were unable to identify the creator of National Frozen Yogurt Day. 

-----------------------------------------

Frozen Yogurt Day was the most fun of the choices for today's first question.  I have no idea why the creator chose a winter day to celebrate a frozen dessert, but here we are!!  Let's talk about food today (one of my favorite subjects)!

1.  Today, Wednesday, February 6th, is Frozen Yogurt Day!  A cold dessert on what must be a very cold day for most of you reading this today!  Do you enjoy frozen yogurt?  Does it matter what the weather is?  Share with us your favorite flavor and/or topping, please!!

I do LOVE frozen yogurt, and rarely eat it because of all the sugar involved, but even when driving past Culver's, which is actually frozen custard, I find myself checking out the marquee for 'Flavor of the Day.' I can't help myself. I don't know why almost all of them available in the wintertime involve chocolate and caramel, when I'd really like to see strawberry or Georgia peach, my favorites.

 Looking south from the porch

2.  What food do you know you shouldn't eat but can't help yourself?

Pasta or pizza. And usually I stay away from them, but once in a while I'll go for a chicken penne pasta or homemade pizza. No matter what I tell myself at the outset, I always eat more of it than I think I should, which is why I try to stay away from them.

 This one, or with kalamata olives and feta cheese. Either is delicious and gluten-free, which is probably why I tend to excuse myself for eating more than a couple squares. Yes, I cut it in squares, which always annoyed our youngest son. LOL
In case you're interested, I posted the recipe for my homemade pizza over eight years ago. You can find it HERE.  I was much younger then, but I still love it! :-)

 I had to show you this photo, taken of our outdoor thermometer on January 31, the day after the last Wednesday Medley posted. It was -35 degrees F. Fortunately, today is a balmy 3 degrees F. Much better!

3.  If your life was a meal, what kind of meal would it be?

 My life definitely feels like a salad these days. And I'm so ready to sink my teeth into a good beef steak, metaphorically speaking.

My favorite lunch, every noon:

Romaine, red cabbage, carrot, onion, peppers, green olives, broccoli slaw, avocado, tomatoes, snap peas, olive oil and fresh lime

4.  Do you like spicy food?  Why or why not?  What is the spiciest food you have ever eaten?

 Mr. C's fresh salsa. None better. It's probably the second-spiciest food I've eaten. The other was blackened chicken, which I did NOT like. But yes, I do like spicy food. I tend to add cayenne to a stirfry, soups, stews, etc.

5.  (Most of you know I have been sick with a cold.) What food do you eat or crave when you have a bad cold?

 I am sorry you've been under the weather, Terri! Mr. C. and I enjoyed about a month of cold/coughing that we thought would never go away. Hope you feel better soon!

If I have a sore throat, this smooth and delicious frozen custard is the best. And with all the sugar, it knocks me out, which might not be a bad thing at that point. But it has to be frozen solid, not anything like soft serve. Ew.

6.  Please tell us something random about your week (and maybe it will involve food).

 Tommy & Smokey, being their usual selves.

Actually, it doesn't involve food. But it does involve downsizing. I know, I know, I seem to bring that up all the time. I've tried to do the 'spark joy' thing, but it just doesn't work for me. All of my books spark joy, all of my England stuff sparks joy, and hardly a single item of clothing sparks joy. I can't go around in my packable down jacket, Levis, and Wolverine boots all day every day. So I'm trying something else: What feels good on me, feels like ME? I realize this might be pretty dangerous also, but we'll see how this tactic works. I'm going to try to get at it. I'll let you know if there's anything remaining in my closet when I've put everything to that test.

ONE MORE RANDOM, please:

I read an interesting, satirical article by David Brooks in the New York Times. Here's an excerpt from the article entitled "The Morality of Selfism, The Gospel of Saint You."

"First, you want to feel indignant all the time. Back in the old days morality was about loving and serving others. But now it’s about displaying indignation about things that other people are doing wrong.

"When you are indignant, or woke, you are showing that you have a superior moral awareness. You don’t have to actually do anything. Your indignation is itself a sign of your own goodness, and if you can be indignant quicker than the people around you, that just shows how much more good you are!" 

Click HERE for the entire article. Yes, the NYT has a lot of ads, but ignore them and enjoy the article which is such an apt commentary on today's American society.

***

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Best Pizza Ever - and happens to be gluten free!

This is an amazing and amazingly easy pizza I can make (you can make) on a moment's notice. From the time you think of it until the time it comes out of the oven is approximately a half hour. Don't think you're getting short-changed because this pizza is gluten free. It is delicious and I actually like it better than any other pizza I've eaten! And that includes the Greek Pizza from Good Earth restaurant in Roseville. No kidding!

Get the Food for Life brown rice tortillas (3 or 4) out of the freezer (you'll find them in the gluten-free freezer section of your grocery store) and set them on the counter to thaw while you get the pizza toppings ready.

 Pizza, just before it goes into the 460 degree oven for the first time

Ingredients:

Food For Life brown rice tortillas, 3 or 4

1 can (or possibly 2) tomato paste

Oregano (fresh, if you have it)

Coarse-ground black pepper

1/2 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil and basil (Not a necessity, but oh, sooooo good! I find this at the olive bar in my local supermarket)

Kalamata or black Moroccan olives, pitted and sliced

Mushrooms, fresh or canned, sliced

1 can of chicken breast, drained and shredded

Fresh parsley

Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

Feta cheese (I like to get the block and grate my own, cuz I like the crumbles to be small)

Mozzarella cheese (not necessary, but I like a little mozz. on this pizza as well.

Pizza, just before going into the 460 degree oven the second time

Instructions:

Spray pizza pan with a GF non-stick cooking spray.

Lay tortillas out on pan, cutting and piecing to fill pan.

Brush tomato paste onto tortillas, covering every bit of tortilla.

Sprinkle on the black pepper and oregano, onion and red pepper.

Lay olive slices and mushroom slices on top,

Sprinkle top with chicken, then the sliced Romas

Top with fresh parsley

Put in preheated 460 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and quickly sprinkle cheeses on top.

          I only do this because I don't want to spill cheese in my oven!

Return pizza to the hot oven for another 8-9 minutes.

Cheese should be slightly golden at the edges, not just melted.

In your hurry to get to this delicious pizza, don't forget to turn off the oven. :-)
Yeah, I've done that. It isn't a good idea to keep an oven at 460 while you're also running the A.C. :-(  But I only did it once.

***

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